Tigers outlast Yellow Jackets

By Eric Boynton | Halifax Media Group

Published: Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 11:19 PM.

CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 15 Clemson’s 47-31 victory over Georgia Tech lived up to its advanced billing with an abundance of points and yardage. In the end, the Tigers simply had too much of an offensive repertoire in a battle of highly criticized defenses.

Of course these two rank among the top-four in the ACC in total offense, scoring and rushing so add in a pair of struggling defenses and the scoreboard was ablaze. The punters virtually had the day off with each team only attempting one.

The difference came via the air, where Clemson dominated behind the record-setting combo of quarterback Tajh Boyd and receiver DeAndre Hopkins as star Sammy Watkins continues to be more decoy than demolisher in still rounding into game shape during just his third outing this season.

“This was a must-win situation for us, especially heading into the bye week,” Boyd said. “This is a momentum shifter heading into the second half of the season.”

Boyd became Clemson’s all-time leader with 51 touchdown passes after completing 26 of 41 passing for a career-high 397 yards and two touchdowns. He added a career-best 63 yards rushing, including a third touchdown.

Hopkins caught seven passes for 173 yards (fourth-highest ever at the school) and two touchdowns one week removed from snagging a school-record 197 yards against Boston College.

The Yellow Jackets entered on a two-game losing streak, but that was the exact same situation last season when they derailed the Tigers’ 8-0 start with an upset in Atlanta that turned the remainder of Clemson’s promising season upside down. Tech had won four of five during Tigers’ coach Dabo Swinney’s tenure with its option offense annually a huge headache.

CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 15 Clemson’s 47-31 victory over Georgia Tech lived up to its advanced billing with an abundance of points and yardage. In the end, the Tigers simply had too much of an offensive repertoire in a battle of highly criticized defenses.

Of course these two rank among the top-four in the ACC in total offense, scoring and rushing so add in a pair of struggling defenses and the scoreboard was ablaze. The punters virtually had the day off with each team only attempting one.

The difference came via the air, where Clemson dominated behind the record-setting combo of quarterback Tajh Boyd and receiver DeAndre Hopkins as star Sammy Watkins continues to be more decoy than demolisher in still rounding into game shape during just his third outing this season.

“This was a must-win situation for us, especially heading into the bye week,” Boyd said. “This is a momentum shifter heading into the second half of the season.”

Boyd became Clemson’s all-time leader with 51 touchdown passes after completing 26 of 41 passing for a career-high 397 yards and two touchdowns. He added a career-best 63 yards rushing, including a third touchdown.

Hopkins caught seven passes for 173 yards (fourth-highest ever at the school) and two touchdowns one week removed from snagging a school-record 197 yards against Boston College.

The Yellow Jackets entered on a two-game losing streak, but that was the exact same situation last season when they derailed the Tigers’ 8-0 start with an upset in Atlanta that turned the remainder of Clemson’s promising season upside down. Tech had won four of five during Tigers’ coach Dabo Swinney’s tenure with its option offense annually a huge headache.

“This was a huge win, a momentum win,” Swinney said. “It was a complete game and the second half was just a thing of beauty. I’m proud of the team and they keep improving every week.”

Clemson’s 601 yards of total offense ranks eighth in school history and the combined 1,084 yards was the second highest total in school history. The Tigers are 61-0-1 when totaling at least 500 yards. It was the most points they’ve scored against Tech since a 47-44 overtime win in 2001.

With Watkins contributing a quiet six catches for 42 yards (and only one for six after halftime), Hopkins once again carried the load as nine different Tigers caught passes compared to Tech completing only nine.

Both of his touchdown grabs – a 58-yarder in the second quarter and a 35-yarder with 10:29 left in the game – erased one-point Tech leads.

Hopkins declined to answer questions after the game, but Swinney was ready to gloat on his junior sensation.

“When you’re a great receiver and you fight for the ball, it’s funny how the ball just comes to you,” Swinney said. “DeAndre made huge play after huge play. He turned plays that didn’t look like they were going anywhere and turned them into big gains.”

Clemson trailed 14-10 after the first quarter as the Tigers once again struggled against a Tech offense averaging 39.2 points per game and a league-best 329.4 rushing yards. Clemson backup tailback Roderick McDowell scored the first of his two touchdowns in the second quarter before Hopkins provided a 27-21 lead at the break.

Clemson and Boyd looked a bit out of sorts early as the fast-paced offense looked a bit complacent.

“I didn’t think we played very fast,” offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “I thought we were very off early in the game. I didn’t think we were relentless enough. We challenged our guys that the only thing that was going to stop us was ourselves.”

It looked like neither defense would stop anybody as Tech opened the second half with a touchdown to take a 28-27 lead. But Clemson’s defense and special teams finally chipped in. Linebacker Spencer Shuey tackled tailback Orwin Smith in the end zone for a safety, while the Tigers also had a key fourth-down stop deep in their territory before blocking a late field goal attempt.

The offense closed it out with fourth-quarter touchdown drives of 75 and 80 yards.

“We kind of took it on the chin early on after they gave us their best shot, but we were able to overcome it,” center Dalton Freeman said. “This might be the first time all year that all three phases of the game complemented each other.”

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